THE WORLD COMMISSION ON GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS & SPIRITUALITY

[Shammu]

THE WORLD COMMISSION ON GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS & SPIRITUALITY

Mission, Vision & ((Global Blueprint))
VISION

The Commission seeks to inspire consciousness of the wholeness of the human family and the sacred tapestry of all life. This spirituality is the foundation of a global consciousness that honors the wisdom found in the world's traditions, cultures and disciplines.


MISSION

The World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality cultivates a growing community of people from diverse cultural, religious,disciplinary and spiritual orientations to promote global wisdom, vision and values. The Commission is action oriented and acknowledges awakening consciousness and spirituality as transformative powers for the common good.


Global Blueprint for the ((World Commission))
by Dr. Ashok Gangadean, Co–Convenor

In these reflections I shall present a global blueprint for the World Commission. I shall attempt to show why I believe the existence, mission and vision of the World Commission are of supreme importance for our planetary scene as we enter the 21st Century, and has a vital role to play in securing a sustainable and flourishing future for the people of the earth.

This blueprint has been distilled over decades of research on the perennial quest to uncover the common ground and source of diverse cultures and worldviews on a global scale through the ages. When we expand our rational consciousness across the spectrum of worldviews we rise to a global perspective in which striking patterns become more evident in our cultural evolution. In this higher dimensional lens we can see, for example, that the human condition has matured, evolved, and arrived at a critical threshold, and which direction we now choose to take will determine our future sustainability.

Many visionary leaders across the planet now realize that how we self-consciously manage our cultural life in the next two decades or so will be decisive. This challenge calls for a new and unprecedented awakened global consciousness and new mindful institutions which will play a vital role in fostering our highest and best collective self transformation for mutual flourishing. The World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality is one such key instrument and institution for leadership and creative change.

AWAKENING GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS : OUR MATURATION AS A SPECIES
(Ending the Source of Conflicts & Our Path into the Future)

Perhaps the single most powerful event facing humanity today is a great awakening on a planetary scale that has been millennia in the making. We humans are in the midst of a profound advance as a species to a higher form of global consciousness that has been emerging across cultures, religions and worldviews through the centuries. This awakening of global consciousness is nothing less than a shift, a maturation, from more egocentric patterns of life to a higher form of integral and dialogic patterns of life. In this drama it is seen that egocentric patterns of minding and living directly lead to fragmentation, alienation and human pathologies at the individual and collective level. The great spiritual traditions have long seen that the key to our survival, sustainability and flourishing turns on our conscious evolution into dialogic patterns of life which bring forth our true moral, rational and spiritual nature as a species.

This crossing as a species into global consciousness involves the direct encounter and co–creation of the common ground between worldviews – the fundamental Logos which is the source of diverse cultural and religious worldviews. Here it is seen that the primary source of chronic violence and breakdown of human relations traces to egocentric patterns. The key to ending violence between cultures and advancing to global cultures of peace, nonviolence and mutual flourishing is our individual and collective advance as beings who live in patterns of deep dialogue. We suggest that this transition as a species has arrived at a critical turning point and that the single most important event now facing the human condition and a key to our future is this advance to awakened global consciousness.

What is "global consciousness"?

The awakening of global consciousness is a new and monumental event in human evolution, even though it has been emerging throughout our diverse spiritual traditions through the ages. But this great event in the human drama is not readily apparent because people tend to process reality from their personalized perspectives, worldviews, narratives or cultural lens. Whereas access to global consciousness comes only if and when we are able to stand back and gain critical distance from our particular localized perspectives and enter the more expansive space of a global perspective in the awakening of the global mind.

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

Here are selected summary themes that should help to bring out this blueprint for the World Commission:

    * The global turn in cultural life is inherently encoded in our great planetary cultures and has been emerging throughout the ages.

    * Our great spiritual traditions and teachers were all in diverse ways fostering and opening the way to the awakening of global consciousness.

    * The mature awakening of global consciousness that we now face in the 21st Century is new and unprecedented in the human condition.

    * Access to such global consciousness can only emerge from and though the transformation of rational awareness and intelligence into a global perspective.

    * A truly global perspective taps a higher dimension of existence, reality, rational intelligence and experience.

    * When we stand back from privileging our personalized perspectives, and localized worldviews, narratives, ideologies or cultural lens the horizon of the global perspective, the global lens opens. This is a key stage in becoming a critical thinker.

    * When we enter the integral space where diverse worldviews originate and meet we gain critical distance from the localized perspectives and new and astounding dynamics and global patterns across and between worldviews come into focus. We arrive at the deeper common ground that is the generative source of all worldviews.

    * Here we see that our great spiritual traditions (east, west, indigenous and other...) have recognized that we humans co–create our living realities through our mental and conscious activities – that we are as we mind. How we process Reality – (our inner psychic life, our outer world and ecology, our experience...) is all important in making our living realities. It matters how we mind.

    * One striking pattern in this global horizon across worldviews is that humans have been in a deep and painful maturation from egocentric or monocentric patterns of minding (processing reality and experience) to more holistic, integral and dialogic patterns of self making and world making. When we look at human evolution through this global lens it becomes overwhelmingly apparent that a lead story is our maturation as a species from more adolescent egocentric patterns of minding to more coherent, rational, moral, integral and holistic patterns of life. This dramatic shift in fulfilling our human destiny as we become mature global beings has been emerging over millennia through our great spiritual endowment.

    * The egocentric (monocentric) mind is a stage in our human development (evolution) which tends to separate and objectify the thinking subject from the objects of thought, and to remain centered in and privileging its particular worldview (religion, ideology, cultural lens) as the exclusive measure of reality (meaning, truth, fact, value, experience, existence). The egocentric mind is broken off from the Integral Field of Reality and packages, constructs, separates, divides, polarizes, fragments all its touches.

    * Our great global spiritual traditions have noticed that this way of constituting and processing experience and reality (this technology of minding) inherently leads to fragmentation, polarizations, dualisms, irreconcilable splits, alienation which is a primary cause of human and cultural pathologies of all sorts. It divides and fragments the Self in its inner life, it artificially separates off the Integral Self from its world, from Others, from relations to Nature and the Ecology, and sets in motion profound and chronic clashes between worldviews, cultures, religions, identities, perspectives...and is a primary source of degeneration in all aspects of the human situation, at the personal and collective levels. So a global consensus (diagnosis) is that ego minding is a primary cause of the spectrum of human pathologies. And the consensus prescription is that to change this mentality is the single most important factor in transforming the human condition.

    * One striking result of the general global law – we are as we mind – is that egocentric or monocentric patterns of minding generate and create lifeworlds and living realities that produce human suffering and pathologies: egocentric minding generates egocentric realities.

    * Another great finding is that we humans have a choice in how we mind – and diverse spiritual teachings – especially in their moral force – show the creative alternative to egocentric patterns of minding.

    * This creative alternative is to break the deeply entrenched habits of ego minding (as if it were a mental vice) and advance (through strategies of rehabilitation and reconstitution) into more integral, holistic and dialogic patterns of processing Self and World. This transformation is a key step in awakening global consciousness and the global perspective: to enter the global perspective is to co–awaken the global mind, and vice versa.

    * Crossing into global consciousness: global perspective, global minding, global lens opens a higher and deeper dimension of reality; this is what is new and unprecedented in awakening the global mind and the global reality that is disclosed in this integral technology of minding. So "global consciousness" is not just about "thinking" or "concepts" or "theory"...it is, as we shall soon see, the most profound pragmatic and practical action we humans can take to change our worlds.

    * But humanity has hitherto lacked an adequate global grammar and a global lens to fully activate this integral/holistic/dialogic technology of mind; and since our living realities are co–created by our patterns of minding, the supreme technological advance in the human condition is this advance to the integral technology of minding.

    * This new and unprecedented activation of a global grammar and global lens begins to become clearer and more accessible if we now experiment with some simple symbolic notations to help us clarify these two contrasting technologies of minding: the global narrative of cultural evolution brings into relief two great contrasting domains or fields of Language, Consciousness, Experience, Human Ecologies: the Egosphere and the Logosophere. It is now of highest urgency to distinguish , disentangle and clarify these two domains of human existence.

    * The great spiritual endowment of the planet converges on the insight that there is and must be some Primal Originating Cause or Force or Power that is the source of all that appears – of all worlds, worldviews, perspectives, cultures, religions, ideologies, narratives...phenomena; this primal force is found to be Infinite and First: What–is–first.

    * Diverse spiritual and philosophical (including scientific) traditions have sought to name this First Cause in diverse grammars, narratives, rhetorical forms, languages, names: for example, Tao, Aum, Yahweh, Allah, Christ, Emptiness (Sunyata), Nature, Energy...to name a few; but there remained no common universal (global) grammar or language to express What is First in a common and generic name – we have lacked a truly global name. But a "global name" requires a "global grammar" – a universal grammar across cultures and worlds.

    * Deepest research into What–is–First reveals that this Ultimate Source must be Infinite and hence the same Unifying Force generating all worlds and worldviews across the spectrum of religions and cultures, the sciences and other disciplinary narratives: we lack a truly global name for this Infinite First.

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

#  It is also clear that the meditative traditions converge in developing powerful strategies and technologies to cross from egocentric minding into the holistic or nondual patterns of meditative (integral) minding – this is the essential teaching, for example in Hindu Vedic texts, such as the Bhagavad–Gita, or of the Buddhist teaching of overcoming egocentric life by meditatively crossing into the non–dual unified field where all things inter–connect and co–relate. But these teachings too lacked a global grammar and a global technology of minding.

# One striking pattern and disclosure that is of the utmost importance for seeing that entering the global perspective is a dimensional shift to a higher encounter of a global reality is the realization that there are two contrasting great technologies of minding that have emerged in human evolution: the ego mind conforms to a logic or technology of minding whatever its worldview may be; whereas the integral–holistic or global mind follows a universal pattern and logic whatever its spiritual teaching or vocabulary may be. So there are two great contrasting fields, domains, dimensions of Language, Thought, Speech, Reason, Experience, Meaning....This dimensional shift to the global lens is well beyond a mere "paradigm shift" within egocentric mind. It actually taps a deeper ground of Reality – it is an existential shift.

# Letπs experiment and play with some simple notation to mark off the two domains of Language and the two technologies of minding:

The /Egosphere/ is marked off by "/.../" – any word or term, "x" used in the ego voice (ego language dimension) shall now be marked off as "/x/" (like ego quotation marks) to make explicit that it is spoken in the ego domain of language and consciousness: the ego lens.

The ((Logosphere)) is marked off by "((...))" (like logos quotation markers) – any word, "X" spoken by the ((global voice)) in this Integral/Holistic Field of Language or Consciousness is marked off as "((X))" – the ((global lens)).

# ((Logos)), as a ((global name)): in my research over the past three decades I have focused on tapping and uncovering a deeper universal or global grammar that has been at the source of our diverse cultural evolutions and awaited being decoded and made explicit: It became clear across our diverse traditions of "What–is–First" (east, west or other) that there is a deep ((universal logic)) and ((grammar)) being tapped by the diverse spiritual and philosophical traditions: and I have proposed the word ((Logos)) as a candidate to help people see, recognize and understand that "What–is–First" – the Infinite Primal Source – is the same Universal and Unifying Force generating all our diverse worlds. (the term "Logos" is here taken from the ancient Greek wisdom where it has rich connotations: word, speech, language, reason..., but I now introduce it as a truly "global name" across traditions and worldviews).

# A new notation for the global grammar and technology: To understand and mark the dramatic shift into the global grammar and global perspective some simple notation would help. It became clear across diverse spiritual traditions that when the voice of the text (Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Jesus...) were speaking from the Integral Space of Logos, from the Unified Field of the Infinite Word – that the grammar and speech was spoken in an integral, nondual, holistic and dialogic voice. And I found it vital to explicitly mark this speech and voice and script with explicit markers: ((...)) , so any utterance in the Unified Field of Logos is "enquoted" by ((...)) which is the mark of the global grammar, voice and perspective, and of course of the holistic/integral process of minding.

# By contrast – whenever speech or language is spoken in the ego voice it is explicitly marked or "enquoted" by /.../, to signal explicitly that it is spoken in the ego voice and in the technology of egocentric mind. We thus begin to see that any word or term "X" is always ambiguous as t whether it is to be taken in the ((X)) Logos voice and grammar, or whether it is to be taken /X/ in the linguistic field of ego voice and mind.

# This contrast between the /ego mind/ and the ((global mind)) is of the utmost importance here for our ((blueprint)) for the ((World Commission)): for we shall now see, through the use of this simple notation, that entering ((global consciousness)) and the resources and endowment of ((global spirituality)) taps a deeper dimension of Reality and this is what represents a new and unprecedented breakthrough in the transformational work of the ((World Commission)). We shall see that the experimental use of the ((notation)) provides a certain ((symbolic power)) and ((simplicity)) and ((economy)) that will facilitate our reflection on the unique potential, power and work of the ((Commission)). And of course just to ((name)) the ((World Commission)) in this global notation already "says it all."

# Crossing from /ego lens/ to the ((global lens)) is a profound shift in the technology of mind and takes us into a deeper Unified Field of ((Reality)). To open the ((global lens)) involves a dramatic letting go of the /ego technology/ and crossing into the ((global, integral, holistic, dialogic)) technology of minding.

# The ((...)) notation helps us to see that the ((global perspective)) enters the ((Logosphere)) the ((Global Unified Field)) where diverse worlds, worldviews, disciplines, perspectives, cultures, religions, co–originate, meet, and mutually interact and transform one another in a boundless field of interactivity.

# This ((...)) technology/notation (the notation, of course, is a symbolic encoding of the ((logistic process of integral–holistic–dialogic minding) enables us to ((think, see, say, express, experience, feel... )) at a deeper dimension of Reality than we could with the /ego lens/; so just to speak of the ((World Commission)) is already to situate this initiative in the ((higher order)) reality of the ((Logosphere)).

# This dramatic crossing into the consciousness of the ((global lens)) involves a profound shift in our ((human being)) – it requires a dilation of our minds, hearts and life to a higher dimension of existence, from an egocentric human to an integral, holistic, dialogic ((human being)). Diverse spiritual traditions have insisted that we become ((whole human being)) precisely when we mature into the ((global mind)) and ((global dialogic consciousness)).

# This activation of the ((global lens)) = ((global mind)) is nothing less than our natural maturation as a ((species)) – the maturation individually and collectively as ((rational beings)) = ((logos beings)); it is the ((activation)) of our dormant ((logos gene)) that brings out our full (human potential)). And this has been a global consensus focus of our spiritual traditions.

# The ((global lens)) enables us to make deep links, across cultures and worlds, that could not be made in the /ego lens/; we can now ((see)) for example that the ((global)), the ((meditative)), the ((holistic)), the ((integral)), the ((nondual)), the ((dialogic)) all ((converge)) in one expanded ((rational consciousness))...which is realized in entering the ((Logosphere)). The ((global lens)) activates deeper hologistic powers and capacities to ((network)) and ((synthesize)) across all sorts of divides – across cultures, religions, ideologies, disciplines, categories... It capacitates us to become integral and whole beings and to live together in deeper synergy, communion, communication, compassion, mutual care and deep dialogue relations. So ((activating)) ((global consciousness)) is a key to human flourishing.

# The ((global lens)) further shows how and why the ((Infinite Word: Logos)) issues in a boundless ((Unified Field)) and this means that ((global consciousness)) flows in the ((Unified Field of Reality)). This makes accessible the generative ((common ground)) underlying all worldviews and cosmologies. The ((technology of minding)) encoded in the ((...)) notation actually releases greater ((expressive power)) in decoding and tapping this deeper ((dimension)) of ((language, thought, experience, meaning, truth, reality)).

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

    *  This is what is new and unprecedented in our present ((historic moment)) of awakening ((global consciousness)). The ((global narrative)) goes deeper into the ((narrative power)) of the ((logosphere)) and brings out the foundational ((global truths)) that are seeded in our great ((narrative traditions)). The ((technology)) was ((latent and emergent)) in earlier traditions, but now it has manifested explicitly in our present ((historical moment)) and accelerates this unprecedented stage of ((conscious evolution)).

    * One astounding disclosure in the ((global perspective)) is discerning a hitherto missing ((global worldview)) or ((universal cosmology)), or ((global ontology)). It is vital to see that crossing into the ((Logosphere)) requires that the ((thinking subject)) existentially ((enter)) the ((Unified Field)). This passage into ((integral minding)) has been documented in great detail throughout the ((meditative–dialogic traditions)), east and west. So the ((Logosphere)) cannot be processed through the /ego lens/ and the /ego mind/. The "thinking subject" must herself become a ((primal thinker)) and move in, through and with the dynamic flow of the ((Unified Field of Reality)). This ((lawlike flow)) of the ((Logosphere)) is the ((blueprint)) for any higher dimensional ((organization)) that seeks to foster and facilitate the awakening of ((global consciousness)) on the planet.

    * Another way to express this is that ((global consciousness)) is ((existential)) and integrally flows in this deeper ((dimension)) of ((existence)) and ((reality)): this is another version of the ((global formula)): ((we are as we mind)) – /ego mind/ co–creates and inhabits an /ego world/, while ((global mind)) ((co–creates and inhabits)) the ((Logosphere)). We begin to see why a ((Commission on Global Consciousness)) is such a profound social, cultural, scientific, educational, moral, spiritual, political... revolutionary advance. And it begins to help us see that the mission of cultivating and ((modeling)) ((global consciousness)) has radical ((existential implications)) for every aspect of our human condition. There could be no higher or more urgent ((work)) to be done on this planet in the 21st Century.

    * We are now in a better position to explore some striking features of the ((Logosphere: Unified Field)): In this ((Primal Source)) of all worldviews, all things are found to be ((boundlessly interwoven)) in dynamic relations. This ((holistic unified field)) has been presented in diverse ways through the ages, and one classical metaphor for this in certain meditative traditions is ((Indraπs Web)) – the Infinite Field in which every point ((touches and communes)) with every other ((point)). Imagine the implications of a ((culture)) living in this deep dynamic of Reality itself. And yet this is what our diverse spiritual traditions have been calling for across millennia. Such ((global spirituality)) is a direct expression of this ((global cosmology)). These dynamics of the ((Logosphere)) preside at the heart and core of all worldviews. And, again, these ((dynamics)) of holistic and integral inter–relationality is the ((energy)) that ((models)) and drives any higher order ((organization)).

    * The ((global lens)) also makes evident the essence of ((ethics)) which directly reflects the dynamic interactive nature of the ((Logosphere)): for the awakened ((global self)) is not a separated /ego entity/ but a ((dialogic self)) that is interactively woven into the deep dialogue fabric of Reality; the ((I)) is always inherently inter–connected with ((other)), whether ((other selves, cultures, worlds...)) or the ((whole ecology)). The ((global moral law)) follows from this – ((always treat Others as you would treat your Self)), which is grounded in the fact that my Self is inherently inter–related with You, my Other, across all worldviews. This is the universal ((I <===> Thou)) dynamic that pervades the ((logosphere)).So another striking disclosure of the ((global mind)) is that the ((Global Moral Law)) cannot be truly ((lived)) in /egocentric life/. And here we find the ((rational ground)) of the ((Global Moral Law)) that is valid for all ((worldviews)).

    * It becomes ((apparent)) that all of our highest ((values)) become ((realized and manifest)) in crossing into ((global consciousness)): the ((global lens)) makes clear the ((sacred essence)) of all ((persons)), and in this is encoded all the sacred ((human rights)); but it also brings out the sacred core of all that appears in the ((Logosphere)): All of ((nature)) is sacred so the ((natural ecology)) must be ((cared for)) on ((moral grounds)), as integral to the ((moral order). Here we see the virtues of ((global democracy)) – a ((Polis of Persons)) living together in the deepest mutual ((Respect)), again, the ((I <===> Thou)) dynamic, which leads to the virtues of ((Democratic)) values and ((global citizenship)). Here again it becomes clear that true ((global citizenship)) flows from ((global consciousness)) and the ((technology)) of ((global minding)).

    * In this context we see that this ((Blueprint)) encoded in the ((Logosphere)) and ((global mind)) is the ((rational ground and foundation)) of any initiative that seeks to develop a ((Planetary Code)) for all the people of the planet across all borders. Such ((global codes of conduct)) for all citizens and institutions cannot be ((validated)) or ((rationally justified)) within the limited and impoverished resources of /egocentric/ culture and discourse. /Ego mind/ cannot ((fund)) and ((justify)) a truly ((global honor code)) for all people. This can only be accomplished within the ((universal resources and spiritual endowment)) of ((global reason, global mind, global consciousness)).

    * Finally, it should now be ((apparent)) that ((global spirituality)) is precisely this crossing from /egocentric life/ into the deep–dialogic ((life)) of ((global consciousness)): this is the highest telos and consensus of our great planetary ((spiritual endowment)): the ((global lens)) opens higher ((Secular Space)) for ((civic life)) in a ((pluralistic culture)). True ((Spirituality)) is the highest expression of our ((rational essence)) and is not to be confused with /egocentric religious life/. ((Spirituality)) is the awakening of our highest ((being)), bringing us into ((direct relation)) with ((Reality as the Logosphere)); it is the process of self–transformation from /ego life/ to the awakened life of mature Integral ((Natural Reason)) and flowing in harmony with the ((Lawlike Moral Energy of the Logosphere). And ((Global Spirituality)) is this ((awakening of the Global Mind)), the highest mature form of ((spirituality)) in its ((global power)). Global ((Spirituality)) then is ((Awakened Critical Reason)) and is thus free of al /ego ideology/ and /ego dogma/. Now, hopefully, the direct link between ((global consciousness)) and ((global spirituality)) should be more manifest.

    * Once we make this crucial distinction between ((Spirituality)) and /egocentric religious life/ (or /ego spirituality/), and realize that ((global spirituality)) opens higher ((global civic space)) for the flourishing of our most cherished ((human values)), it becomes easier to ((see)) that this is the ((Secular Civic Space)) in which ((global democracy, global citizenship)) and the new emergent ((global cultures)) may flourish. It becomes clearer precisely why genuine ((Secular Space)) is not possible within the fragmenting and polarizing dynamics of /egocentric cultures/which of course are always lodged in /ideology/ and /localized worldviews/. We must, for example, ask: to what extent is the current state of "American civic discourse" dominated by /egocentric politics/ and /ego democracy/= /egocracy/? Have we truly matured into a ((secular civic space))? A truly ((secular civic democracy)) can only arise through ((spiritual citizenship)). That would be the true ((American revolution)).

The artificial separation of /religion/ vs /politics/, or /church/ v /state/ (as important as this is for ego–cultural space), has not proven successful in accomplishing this genuine opening of higher ((ecumenical= secular)) ((civic space)) in which diverse worldviews, perspectives, ideologies, cultures, religions...may flourish in genuine ((critical self transformation)) and ((deep dialogue)). Thus, for example, if "America" is to be a truly "global", "pluralistic" multi–cultural", "multi–ethnic"...culture, we need to ask whether the current "civic space" is truly ((globalized)), truly ((secular)) and flowing in the dynamics of ((deep democracy)) and ((global citizenship)).

((Imagine)) an ((America)) in which the ((open civic space of citizenship)) has matured to become truly ((Secular)), where the highest virtues and values in the ((American Ethos)) are realized (or realizable) in the ((awakened and mindful Polis)). That would be an ((America)) in which ((global consciousness)), ((global spirituality)), ((global democracy)) flourishes. So there is not the slightest tension between true ((spirituality)), ((secular civic life)) and deep ((democracy)). ((Spirituality)) is the key to ((Secularity)) and ((Civic Democracy)). With this foregoing ((orientation)) the ((name)), ((mission)) and ((vision)) of the ((World Commission)) should now be more in ((focus)).

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

Part II: ((Blueprint)) for Higher Order ((Transformational Organizations))

((The World Commission on Global Consciousness and Spirituality)) ((conceives)) of itself as a higher dimensional ((organic organization)) whose primary ((mission)) it is to play a ((leadership role)) in the great drama now accelerating on the planet. We have seen through the ((global lens)) that the most powerful and decisive ((event)) facing humanity today is the shift in the ((technology of mind)), and of cultures from the /egosphere/ to the ((logosphere)).

This profound ((evolutionary)) =((revolutionary)) shift that has been accelerating over generations presides and overrides other global "events". In this ((global perspective)) it has been suggested that the single most potent ((activity)) that can address and redress the urgent crises and chronic cultural pathologies that threaten our survival is the mass awakening of ((global consciousness)) amongst the people of the planet. Since our living realities are co–shaped by our mentalities and our habits of mind, a creative shift at the individual and collective levels in how we "mind" will have the most radical and practical consequences in transforming our existential human condition. It is therefore of the utmost importance in the rehabilitation and healing of our cultures that people become keenly aware of the role that /ego minding/ plays in causally generating the spectrum of our human pathologies. And one key task of the ((World Commission)) is to bring out this ((global truth)) by ((narrating)) and ((naming)) this dynamic. For ((right diagnosis)) is the key to ((genuine healing)). So it is in this ((context)) that we situate the ((mission)) of the ((World Commission)) as a ((Commission on Consciousness)).

But what is a "Commission" on "Consciousness"? We have now seen that there is a dramatic reversal and inversion of ((priorities)) and ((realities)) when we shift from /ego mind/ to ((global consciousness)). In /egocentric narratives/, of whatever /ideology/ or /worldview/, "consciousness" is merely /mental/ or /theoretical/ and has to do with mere /thinking/ and not with "objective reality". But when we shift to the ((global perspective)) a profound ((inversion)) takes place in which we ((see)) that ((consciousness)) is the very ((fabric of objective Reality)), of the ((logosphere)) – that ((consciousness)) and ((mentality)) are the most potent ((forces)) in constituting and shaping our ((living realities)): ((consciousness)) is ((existential)), ((pragmatic)) and ((proactive)). ((Minding)) matters.

This is the great ((reality principle)) behind the strategic insight that the transformation from /consciousness/ to ((consciousness)) is the single most potent and radical act that we humans can perform in materially changing our living realities. And this is a primary ((reason for being)) of the ((World Commission)).

And here it would be timely to pause and look more deeply into the ((generic model)) of any ((transformative organization)) that seeks to play a leading role in this ((foremost event)) of the 21st Century. For any such ((organization)) to be ((effective)) on the planet, both ((locally and globally)) must ((model and source)) itself from the powerful ((holistic, integral and dialogic dynamics)) of the ((Logosphere)). Any ((organization)) that purports to be playing a key role in facilitating the transition of our cultures to ((communities of the future)) needs to be an ((organic organization)) grounded in ((Reality)) and ((exemplifying)) the principles, dynamics, features and virtues of the ((Global Ethos)) of the ((Logosphere)). This is a global ((Blueprint)) for ((Organizational Development)) in the 21st Century.

So the ((Co–mission)) as a ((consciousness organization)) recognizes that there is a vast growing ((network)) of other ((organizational initiatives)) around the globe that share in this common mission: and one ((imperative)) of any such ((global organization)) must be to ((network)) in the deepest existential sense of ((consciously joining in common cause)): so it truly is a ((Co–Mission)) on ((Global Consciousness)). Indeed, this is one of the foremost ((principles)) of higher order ((consciousness organizations)). This shared ((mission)) applies to any ((individual)) or ((institution)) that ((sees itself)) as essentially working to foster the awakening of ((global consciousness)) and ((global citizenship)) whether at the ((local)) or ((global)) levels.

Such ((initiatives)) would of course span a vast growing spectrum of efforts serving this ((global renaissance)). This could be, for example, an enlightened ((college campus community)) whose mission it is to advance the highest form of ((education)), or a ((movement)) to bring forth new ((instruments of peace making)), an initiative to bring forth a new ((global honor code)) or ((earth charter)) for the ((planet)), or any initiative by ((the people)) to bring forth a ((cultural renaissance)) through ((spiritual politics)), or an ((instrument)) to renovate the economic marketplace and ((transform)) the "corporate worlds" to higher ((corporate responsibility)) in ((humanizing)) the workplace... all reflecting the ((Global Logos Ethos)) for the ((people of the planet)). Obviously the ((World Commission)) sees itself as ((networking)) in ((common cause)) with this boundlessly expanding ((global network)).

So, in further developing this ((Blueprint)) let us pause and very briefly inventory some of the more salient ((principles, features, dynamics, virtues, strategies))... of a ((transformational organization)) such as the ((World Commission)) that is ((grounded)) in the ((logosphere)):

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

Generic Principles, Dynamics, Features of ((Organizations))

Let us ((Imagine)) the dynamic ((energy field)) of any ((living, organic organization)) situated in the ((Unified Field)). We have already seen that in crossing into the ((...)) sacred space of the ((Logosphere))...all who enter are dramatically self–transformed into a ((hologistic)), ((integrative)) or ((deep dialogic)) ((forcefield)). Of course such a ((Self: I am)) is always in a deep dialogue life of open ((experimental inquiry, learning and self revision)). What does this ((mean))? While any /individual/ or /institution/ remains lodged in the /egosphere/ it resides in linear /space/ and /time/ and is self /objectified/ as some kind of /entity/ or /thing/. The /ego self/ the /I/...is such an /object/ or /being/.

While the /egosphere/ is linear, /hierarchically ordered/, and divided into /classifications/ and /categories/ that are estranged from one another, we find that any ((point)) in the ((logosphere)) is a ((dynamic energy field)), a sacred ((power point)) which is ((holistic)) and dynamically interrelated to all other points in the ((Field)). The simple ((intuition)) is that ((Logos)), as the ((infinite force)) issues in a boundless diverse ((field of dynamic unity)) in which each ((point)) is at once ((distinct and unique)) and yet inherently inter–connected with every other point in the ((Unified Field)).

Therefore,the primal ((dynamic structure)) of the ((logosphere)) is that it is a ((unified field)) of boundless ((multiplicity and diversity)) wherein all ((points)) are in ever deepening ((unity in diversity)) and ((diversity in unity)). Thus, when "I" center my ((self)) in this ((I am)) – my ever higher ((awakened Self)), my ((global identity and individuality))...((I)) find myself in a deep dynamic flow of ((inter–relationality)) with ((others)), with the ((ecology)), now ((understood)) as the ((holistic unified field)). This is the awakening of the ((dialogic Self)) experiencing its dynamic and boundless ((link)) with this ((global ecology)). This ((I am)) can serve as a ((model)) for any ((x)), for any ((institution)) or ((organization)) situated in this ((organic field of relations)).

Such an ((organization)) is nourished by the ((living dynamic energy)) of the ((logosphere)). Thus it is in direct touch with and generated by this dynamic energy of ((Reality)) itself. It is here that such higher order ((organizations)) draws their ((energy)) ((meaning)) and ((life force)). They are (funded)) in and through this ((logosphere endowment)). And we shall see that this is a key to the higher ((dimension)) ((Logonomic life)) beyond /ego economics= /egonomics/.

Now ((imagine)) the ((World Commission)) or any other ((organization)) as being so ((situated and grounded)) in this ((living energy field)):

While a more conventional /organization/ is situated in /space/ and time/ and structured in dynamics of the /egosphere/, a higher order ((organization)) is ((situated in the ((space–time–consciousness)) energy field and taps the energy and ((funding)) of the ((logosphere)). This higher dimensional ((unified field)) capacitates ((it)) to manifest a more potent ((reality)) and higher ((possibilities)).

Here are some more obvious possibilities:

i) The Principle of ((Community)): The ((members)) of such an ((organizational energy field)) come together in a ((deep dialogic)) mode of inter–relating, forming a sacred ((community)) wherein each brings ((unique gifts and resources)) and each forms a living ((network)) in which there is ((mutual enhancement)), ((creative synergy)), ((open boundless growth)) and where each amplifies the ((whole)), and is at the same time amplified by the ((organization)). This is a ((community)) of equals in which ((individuality and diversity)) abounds in ((dynamic unity and common cause)). It is immediately apparent that this exemplifies the ((Logos Ethos)) of a true ((community)).

ii) Principle of ((Exemplification)): If such an ((organization)) is to be ((effective)) in helping /cultures/ cross into the space of ((global consciousness)) and ((global spirituality)) it must ((itself)) be grounded in this higher order ((logosphere)) and at the same time be a ((bridge)) and a ((crossing)) for /individuals/ and /institutions/ that may be lodged in /egocentric cultures/. This of course means that any such ((Organization)) = ((Org)) would also be an ((educational and teaching org)). In this respect this ((Org)) must ((model)) and ((exemplify)) the living dynamics of ((global consciousness)). It must ((live the truth)) it alleges to be fostering. A ((Commission on Consciousness)) must be ((self–conscious and mindful)) in a self–reflexive way and is thus also essentially a ((Learning Org)). It must be a ((morally charged community)) that manifests the ((values and virtues)) of the ((global ethos));. Thus, if it alleges to be fostering ((deep democracy)) it must itself ((live and model and exemplify)) these dynamics and virtues. It must live and manifest a ((deep dialogic)) way of ((being)).

iii) Principle of ((Networking)): It follows, as we suggested earlier, that any such ((Org)) would be ((organic)) and ((hologistic)) – meaning that it is a ((vital vortex)) or ((energy field)) that ((grows boundlessly)) as it forms dynamic ((networks)); it must be an ((open ended)) ((experimental, self revisioning and learning Org)) whose ((being)) is ((modeling global consciousness)) through ((deep networking)). We have seen that ((creative networking)) is the very ((fabric)) of the ((Unified Field)) and this ((dynamic)) reverberates in every direction throughout the ((ecology)); it is the dynamic principle of ((energy)) itself that ((reiterates)) from the most miniscule ((subatomic units)) at the ((micro level)) to the most cosmic and global ((macro level)) of communities, cultures, institutions, organizations..and the like.

iv) ((Principle of Synergy)): A corollary of ((networking)) is the ((mutual augmentation)) and ((energy amplification)) that comes through ((systemic networking)). The ((life energy)) of the ((logosphere)) is released to ever higher levels through authentic mutual ((networking)): apparently such ((networking)) mimics the very structure and dynamic of ((global consciousness)) itself – the ((awakening)) dynamic that releases ((energy, meaning, vitality)) through making creative ((links)).

Thus, when the diverse ((members)) of the ((World Commission)) come together in ((common cause)) the ((local initiatives)) of each are thereby ((mutually amplified and augmented to a higher power)) through this very ((linking)) and this ((new awareness)); again, if there are many diverse localized ((initiatives)) spread across the nations around the globe yet engaged in like–minded efforts to move the planet to a ((cultural renaissance)) in facilitating the awakening of ((global consciousness)...then to gain mutual ((knowledge)) of one another and ((network in common cause)) will vastly accelerate and ((amplify)) the effectiveness of ((each)) through this ((deep networking)).

An ((imperative of this ((global ethos)) is ((thou shalt network)). This follows the ((lawlike dynamics of the Unified Field)). The ((energetics)) of the ((logosphere)) apparently follows the very dynamics of ((awakening global consciousness)) which is a kind of ((deep networking)). As ((individuals)) ((awaken)) higher ((life force, vitality and meaning)) are realized. As ((communities)) ((activate and awaken)) their ((life force and energy and vitality)) grows ((exponentially)) = ((hologistically)). We may call this ((Synergy)).

cont'd next post

[Shammu]

III: ((Imagining)) the ((World Commission)): ((Global Blueprint))

These ((principles)) and ((dynamics)) should give us enough of a generic sense for this new and ((emergent)) kind of ((organization)). And in the ((light)) of the foregoing we are hopefully in a better position to ((reflect experimentally)) on the ((vision, mission and work)) of the ((World Commission)) as a ((Commission on Global Consciousness)).

l) Perhaps it makes more sense now why there is urgent need for a ((World Commission)), to be a truly ((global organization)) that will focus its ((being)) on helping the people of the planet cross together into a more ((enlightened)) and ((mindful)) way of ((being together)).

2) It should be more ((apparent)) that such an ((energy field)) would be a ((vortex)) of ((networking)) to help accelerate the creative transformation to ((cultures of global consciousness)).

3) The ((WC)) would thus be an ((initiating and activating force)) – playing a ((leadership role)) in ((creatively naming)) and ((diagnosing)) the real deeper causes and dynamics of the diverse human pathologies and dysfunctions that issue from /egocentric patterns/ of minding. But of course this is seen as an essential first step in focusing on the positive creative changes in ((activating higher global consciousness)) which is the primary ((intent)) of our ((work)).

4) Here it is clearer that the very ((being)) of the ((WC)) is its ((work)): to hold the ((space)), to articulate the ((vision)) is already radical ((proactive action)). The very ((vision)) and ((mission)) of the ((WC)) brings cultural ((transformation)). By being a ((self exemplifying model)) of a ((culture of global consciousness)) its vital ((work)) is being done. ((Holding the Vision)) is itself a vital aspect of the ((mission)): And , as we saw earlier, it is a law of the ((unified Field)) that ((consciousness)) is ((proactive change)): this is one ((sense)) in which the ((WC)) is ((action oriented)). In a ((Consciousness Org)) ((Vision)) is ((Proactive Action)): ((activision)).

5) Further, it is perhaps clearer that the ((WC)) as a higher dimensional ((Hologistic Organization)) does not "function" in the conventional terms of other /Commissions/ that my be lodged in /egocentric structures and patterns/. For example, this ((Commission)) is ((convened)) in ((spacetime of the Unified Field)) and as such all members of this ((energy field)) are in perpetual ((community, meeting, collaboration)). ((Members)) do not have to /physically/ come to /one meeting place/ to be in ((proactive creative collaboration)); on the contrary, all ((members of the WC)) as they proceed with their ongoing creative ((projects)) are thereby already ever ((mindful)) of also advancing the ((common cause)) of the ((WC)). Indeed, whether people explicitly realize it or not...all ((genuine initiatives)) in the ((common cause)) of cultivating and advancing the transformation to ((global consciousness)) and ((awakened global cultures of peace)) are ((de facto)) advancing the ((vision/mission)) of the ((WC)) and a thereby incorporated into this ((open ended energy field)).

6) Again, the wonderful technological tools (such as the digital power of the internet) now available to help hold the ((members of the Commission)) together while we are spread across the planet is another ((global reality)) that enables the ((WC)) to function effectively at this ((higher dimension)) of ((virtual reality in the Logosphere)). So the ((WC)) thus ((conceived)) is a growing ((logos seed)), an ((energy vortex)) with ((causal force)) to help ((activate and accelerate)) the awakening of ((global consciousness)) across the planet through ((holistic networking)). In this way the ((WC)) is a ((self exemplifying ((model)), a ((template)), an ((exemplar)) an ((archetype)) that manifests its ((vision and principles)) in its very ((being)), which is its ((proactive transformative work)).

These, then, are ((focal themes) for our deep dialogue Retreat at Wasan III. This of course is offered in the spirit of ongoing ((dialogue)) and building on our earlier conversations at Wasan I and II. We invite all members and friends of the ((World Commission)) to critically reflect on these ((thoughts)) and share your ((reflections)) at this formative moment.

Dr. Ashok Gangadean, Co–Convenor
For the Executive Committee

THE WORLD COMMISSION ON GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS & SPIRITUALITY

[Shammu]

An Historic Advance in Global Spirituality
By Dr. Ashok Gangadean and the WSF Team

The third World Spirit Forum (WSF) gathering built upon the considerable momentum gained from the two prior annual meetings in Arosa. It reached a high plateau in what is now recognized as a rapidly growing worldwide movement towards a higher form of sustainable global culture based upon an awakened global consciousness and spirituality.

Participants deliberated on a focal document prepared by the WSF team. Especially noteworthy in this document is the insistence that "spirituality is the core essence of every person." It makes it clear that "our common purpose is to foster and weave together a world community living in peace." A striking keynote is the recognition that awakening global consciousness is a vital ingredient in addressing the urgent crises facing humanity, and in transforming the cultures that have generated them. The committed intention is to offer a platform upon which the spiritual community can meet on an annual basis in Arosa, for the purpose of defining and addressing world issues through the lens of spirituality.

In the continuing intense dialogue focused on the vital importance of awakened global spirituality for cultural sustainability and human flourishing, it is recognized that there is no simple or easy definition of "spirituality" in a global context, and perhaps none is possible or even desirable. There is a keen awareness that a focus on "spirit" and "spirituality" can be a real barrier in communicating to people across the planet who may confuse it with religion, spiritualism, utopian thinking, or who may hold a worldview that considers spirituality or consciousness irrelevant in addressing the urgent crises that threaten sustainability on the planet.

What is clearly emerging in the continuing conversation at WSF and in a growing range of kindred awakening dialogues around the planet, is that authentic spirituality is a dynamic process of consciousness that brings us into deeper touch with our whole selves, with one another, with our diverse ecologies, the earth and the wider Kosmos. A signature of this global spirituality is an ever–deepening experience of connection and communion with life and all existence across the artificial borders and barriers of constricted ego–based cultures. Awakened global spirituality is not to be confused with localized worldviews, ideologies, or forms of religious life which separate us from our natural inter–connectivity and from community with all reality.

Indeed, this growing awareness is precisely what is igniting an unprecedented spiritual renaissance on a global scale. The World Spirit Forum and partners such as the World Wisdom Council recognize that emerging global consciousness is deeply rooted in the spectrum of our diverse wisdom traditions, and is being further confirmed through exciting developments at the frontiers of the sciences.

The collective wisdom of humanity recognizes that objective reality is an integral unified field of dynamic inter–connectivity which is also the common ground and generative source of our diverse worldviews, religions and perspectives. Global consciousness and spirituality is the open and awakened mentality that brings us in touch with this unifying force field wherein unity and diversity arise together. WSF is focused on this great awakening. We believe that it is our next evolutionary step in becoming integral, whole human beings in an awakened human species. It is in this sense that "spirituality" is the essence of being human.

This evolutionary development is of the highest importance. Our sustainability depends upon it. Our great wisdom traditions clearly teach that we co–create our living realities through the conduct of our consciousness; our worlds are mind–made. Ego–based cultures produce ego–mental worlds; while cultures based on integral and holistic mental patterns produce sustainable cultures within which whole human beings flourish together as one family sharing one sacred earth.

The WSF sees itself providing an ongoing venue to help facilitate, foster and accelerate a human renaissance in this unprecedented evolutionary moment.

After deep deliberations, stirring presentations and searching dialogues, a consensus emerged that affirmed the urgent need for an appropriate open and inclusive global forum to foster and amplify awakening global consciousness and its powerful potential as a transforming force for the common good. A major breakthrough at the gathering of one hundred twenty participants was the collective recognition that the World Spirit Forum is an ideal forum with the potential to fulfill these felt needs, and that no further "Parliament" would be desirable at this stage. This historic gathering ended on a high note of affirmation for the WSF and its vital role in embracing and serving the Arosa Declaration, which is intended to capture and affirm the spirit of global transformation.

AROSA DECLARATION


Be it resolved…

That we hereby affirm the WSF World Spirit Forum as an open growing global sacred space, a home for inclusive gathering in community as awakened whole human beings in celebration of our deep interconnectivity and reverence for all life and our global human family sharing our sacred earth.

And hereby commit ourselves to joining in common cause to co–create an ever–expanding resonant energy field reaching across the planet through a holistic global design to facilitate the emergence of a growing critical mass of global citizens towards a new inclusive, compassionate and sustainable global culture for our mutual flourishing with our sacred earth.

An Historic Advance in Global Spirituality

[Shammu]

MEMBERS

His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Former President Abdurrahman Wahid (Indonesia)
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
Seyyed H. Nasr (Distinguished Professor of Islamic thought and culture)
Tu Weiming (Harvard Professor and eminent voice for Chinese culture)
Hazel Henderson (Eminent Author, Futurist, Ecology of Global Economics)
Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace Prize Laureat, Moral Leader, Head of Green Belt Movement, Nairobi)
Robert Thurman (Buddhist Tibetan Scholar, Columbia University, Advisor to The Dalai Lama)
Sir Sigmund Sternberg (Winner of the Templeton Prize, Inter–religious relations)
Rodrigo Carazo (Elder Statesman, Leader, The University for Peace)
His Royal Highness El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan (President, Club of Rome)
Barbara Marx Hubbard (Futurist, President–Foundation for Conscious Evolution)
The Very Rev. James Morton Parks (President, Interfaith Centre of New York)
Professor Cornel West (Princeton U. Professor, Leading African–American voice)
Elizabet Sahtouris (Evolution Biologist, Ecology, Voice for Indigenous People)
Dr. Riane Eisler (Distinguished author, visionary leader for Partnership Education)
Mary Evelyn Tucker (Distinguished Scholar, leading voice for Religion & Ecology)
Jane Goodall (Distinguished Primatologist, Voice for Wildlife Conservation)
Jim Kenney (Exec. Director of Common Ground; Exec. Director, Inter–religious Engagement Project)
Jonathan Granoff (President, Global Security Institute)
Angaangaq Lybert (Eskimo Inuk Elder & Healer, Greenland)
Betty Williams (Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Pres. – World Centres of Compassion for Children International)

Global Councils

The Commission is now actively developing the following Global Councils as a powerful way to carry forth our mission on a planetary scale. These Councils may be seen as "Sub–Commissions" – as direct extensions and outreach of the Commission into diverse primary aspects of planetary cultural life. As such each Council will have direct participation of Commissioners who will report directly to the World Commission and keep the Commission as a whole fully informed about developments.

Global Council on Spiritual Politics & Global Citizenship: Al Gore, Dennis Kuccinich, Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Cornel West, Robert Thurman, Tu Weiming, Barbara Bernstein

Global Council on Planetary Ethics and Values: Steven Rockefeller, Ervin Laszlo, Vaslav Havel, Mary Robinson, Bette Williams, Oscar Arias Sanchez, Hafsat Abiola, Hans Kung, Diane Williams

Global Council on Peace & Conflict Resolution: Desmond Tutu, Arun Gandhi, John & Susan Marks, Rabbi Michael Lerner, Elie Wiesel, Rama Vernon

Global Council on Awakening Arts & Entertainment: Bono, Peter Gabriel, Steven Speilberg, Kit Thomas, Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Stephen Simon, Robert Redford

Global Council on Islam & The West: Dr. Seyyed Nasr, Dr. Riffat Hassan, Dr. Akbar S. Ahmed, Dr. Michael Sells, Prince Hassan of Jordan, Queen Noor of Jordan, Dr. Omid Safi, Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer

Members of The World Commission On Global Consciousness & Spirituality

[Shammu]

Anyone else recognize some of the names above??

[HisDaughter]

Whereas the article on the Saudi's flying mansion reminded you of something out of the "Left Behind" series, this one reminds me of something out of a Frank Peretti book!

Just reading all the news posted on here today (and many other days) tells me that we are on a fast track to Glory while the world is on a fast track to destruction.  And there is no turning back now!

So much, happening so fast.  It's a blur.  It's like the little boy with his finger in the dyke and while he stops that one here another leak appears over there.

[Shammu]

This also reminds me of the "Left Behind" series. Nice to know that some authors are close, in how they write.

[Eva]

reading all the news posted on here today (and many other days) tells me that we are on a fast track to Glory while the world is on a fast track to destruction.  And there is no turning back now!

So much, happening so fast.  It's a blur.  It's like the little boy with his finger in the dyke and while he stops that one here another leak appears over there.

According to God's Word, we sure are...

Love in Christ, Eva

[nChrist]

WOW! This is one wild thread. I just hope and pray that we won't be here to see all of the nonsense played out. The devil is one busy little boy, and the world appears to be ripe for GOD'S RIGHTEOUS WRATH.

[HisDaughter]

WOW! This is one wild thread. I just hope and pray that we won't be here to see all of the nonsense played out. The devil is one busy little boy, and the world appears to be ripe for GOD'S RIGHTEOUS WRATH.

It sure does!  "Ripe verging on rotten to the core".